Manx SJ-2 User manual

SJ-2 Version 1.3

Contents
Getting Started
Introduction................................................................. 3
Installation ...................................................................4
Adjusting Parameters...................................................4
P rogramming the SJ-2 Oscillators...
..................................................................6 PWM
............................. ....................... ........................ .9
Filter............................................................... ............. 11
Envelopes ...... ...............................................................13
LFO........................................... .............................. ......17
Oscillator mix................................................................17
SJ-2 Control panel
Programmer, portamento, bend range ............... ........ ..19
Unison Mode, LFO 2 & Ar peggiator...................... ......... 20
Continuous Control & Midi Learn .............................. ....21
Zoom out.................................... .............................. ....21
A ppendices
Appendix One: Audio Filters......................... .................23
Appendix Two: Troubleshooting. ...................................26
Appendix Three: Info for users .......................................27 1 ContentsUser Guide last updated: 03-04-2015

2
Introduction
Congratulations on acquiring the Manx SJ-2 synthesizer. We hope you will find the rich, organic sound of the instrument to be as satisfying as we do
. Manx Synthesizers originally started out as a vehicle to test out novel oscillator designs, whilst looking intothe possibility of providing digital oscillators with more ‘grunt’. These designs share much ‘DNA’ with what lies under the hood of Manx instruments today. However, we subsequently shifted our attention onto the filter and envelope sections, which we felt, were still being somewhat ‘trashed’ by real analog gear. For patches which feature an open filter and bland EG settings, the SJ-2 does sound similar to its predecessor, the Manx Super-Jay. However, patches with significant filtering and bold EG settings are probably the most commonlyused synth sounds out there; and these are a kind of sounds in which the SJ-2 can now excel. Please note that the SJ-2 does not attempt to model any particular hardware instrument down to the finestdetail but we have tested it alongside audio examples of the awesome MKS-80 all the way through developmentand the SJ-2 programming functionality is rather similar to that of the hardware beast.
Please note that if you are new to synthesis, parts of this user guide may appear to be ‘a bit heavy’.Don’t worry, once you start turning knobs and flicking switches on the SJ-2, it will all start to make sense.3 Getting Started
General features 6 note polyphonic, with double and unison modes. Midi Learn for all parameters; Patch memory system with full library. Independent PWM LFOs, velocity sensitivity, generous modulation routings and much more....
General information
The SJ-2 has no on - board effects - its output is mono. External effects must
be used if you need stereo image ry, or layer 2 SJ-2s together, then pan.
The SJ-2 can respond to velocity data but in most factory presets, this is switched off.
The SJ-2
s CPU consumption is ve
ry sensitive to patch complexity.

4 Getting Started

The SJ-2 features two fully loaded oscillators; you can control the pitch and basic wave-shape of each, from the oscillator panel shown above.
Whilst the pitch of oscillator 1 can be set in only in octave intervals, the oscillator 2 pitch is continuous and
is controlled by the two left side knobs, labelled ‘Range’ and ‘Tune’ respectively; these both control oscillator2’s pitch but the ‘Tune’ control has a much finer action. It is a little bothersome to select an appropriate octave for oscillator 2, but this arrangement is handywhen the two oscillators are synchronized (see below for details). WAVE SHAPE AND TUNING (1)1111126 Programming -OscillatorsWhen playing a guitar, the sound produced originates from the strings. In the case of a synthesizer, the basicsound comes from a section called the ’oscillator section’. Just as a guitar can have twelve strings instead of six, so a synthesizer may feature two oscillators instead of one. This is the case with the Manx SJ-2 Having two oscillators instead of one can give you a fatter sound, especially if the two oscillators are set twobe slightly out of tune. Oscillator Overview

KEY FOLLOW (3) There are several factors which determine the pitch of the SJ-2’s oscillators, besides their specific tuningsettings; other factors include; master-tune control , pitch-bend midi data, modulation sources and of coursethe keyboard itself. The way the oscillator’s pitch responds to the keyboard is known as ‘key tracking’ and as you may imagine,normally it is tracked such that 12 keys up the keyboard will equal a 1 octave pitch increase, just like a piano. Its quite rare for synthesizers to offer alternatives to this configuration - other Manx V2 synths don’t - but theSJ-2 does: the two controls at the far left of the oscillator section control this: If the switch is set to VCO1 (another term for oscillator 1), the second oscillator will continue to track thekeyboard in the standard (12v keys = one octave) way, but the first oscillators key tracking will be tempered bythe key follow slider next to it - fully open, this slider will again produce one octave for 12 keys but when this slider is set to zero, oscillator 1 will not track the keys at all; it’s pitch will then hang purely on the other factors mentioned above. Setting the key follow switch to VCO2 will set the oscillator 1 pitch to track the keys normally with oscillator 2 being tempered by the slider, whilst setting the switch to ‘off’ will cause both oscillators to follow the keyboardnormally. Use the key tracking facilities however you like, but please note that this can be a really useful feature if theoscillators are synchronised. The important characteristic of oscillator synchronising is that changing oscillator 2’s pitch will change thetimbre of the oscillator section but the pitch of both oscillators will track the pitch setting for oscillator 1. By modulating the 2nd oscillator’s pitch using the SJ-2’s envelopes or LFOs, sync’ing will provide another meansto have your patch’s timbre evolve as a key continues to be held down (along side with filter modulation - described later in the user guide).337 Programming -Oscillators Normally, the two oscillators are free running (simulated); they operate independently. This means that when you press a key multiple times, the resulting sound may not be exactly the same each time,because the oscillators will interact with each other differently each time. However, when Oscillator Sync is turned on, the 2nd oscillator will be forced to reset to the start of its wave-cycle, every time the 1st oscillator naturally works round to the start of its cycle. If your new to synthesis and this sounds complex - don’t worry. Simply try it out - you will recognise the kind of sounds sync’ing can produce since they appear everywhere inpopular recorded music.OSCILLATOR SYNCHRONIZATION (2)

5544OSCILLATOR CROSS MODULATION (4) Yet another factor which can affect the pitch of oscillator 2 is the output from oscillator 1; that is oscillator 1’swaveform - when at the top of its cycle osc 2’s pitch will rise and when at the bottom of its cycle, osc 2’s pitchwill fall. Clearly this pitch fluctuation will be very fast indeed and will serve to provide a timbrel effect rather thandiscernible pitch variance. The left hand cross-mod slider simply sets the extent to which osc 2 is modulated by osc 1. The right handslider controls the extent to which cross modulation responds to envelope 1 (please see the section on envelopes later in the document.)OSCILLATOR MODULATION RESPONSE (5) As mentioned earlier, a number of factors can affect oscillator pitch besides the oscillator pitch controls themselves. These other factors are said to ‘modulate’ the oscillators’ pitch - modulate simply means ‘change’, and whilethe keyboard could certainly be described as a modulator, the term is more commonly reserved for other parts of the synth’s architecture which can affect pitch - lfo’s and envelopes in particular (these will be defined later in the user guide.) The SJ-2 works as follows: parts of the SJ-2 architecture which can control pitch have their own sliders to set how much pitch modulation will occur, and this will be the same for both oscillators. In addition, though, the way the oscillators respond to the modulation can be set individually for eachoscillator from within the oscillator section, using the switches labeled (5) above. Using these switches, you can set each oscillator to either respond positively or negatively to themodulation, or not at all. This may seem a little unnecessary, but it’s actually a really neat feature and once again, is particularly useful when the oscillators are sync’ed.8 Programming -Oscillators

Pulse Width Modulation Both of the SJ-2’s oscillators have the option of selecting a pulse wave, which looks like this: The pulse waves have a feature which none of the other waveforms have; The peak to troughratio can be adjusted. We do this using a parameter known as ‘pulse width’.Pulse WidthPulse Width increasedThis is a superb feature for two reasons: Firstly, one wave shape - pulse - becomes an infinite number of wave shapes; all pulse waves with different pulse widths. The second reason is even more useful; Because pulse width is a continuous variable, we can modulate it (vary it) in real time, using either LFOs, envelopes (see later sections), or key tracking. 9 Programming -PWM

Pulse width & pulse width modulation are so important that the SJ-2 has a section dedicated to them:The controls labelled ‘PW’ set the pulse width for each oscillator. If the oscillator is set to any wave other than pulse wave, the settings here will have no effect. The actual Pulse width can be made to fluctuate around the point set by the ‘PW’ slider, by an amount set by the ‘PWM’ slider - this stands for ‘pulse width modulation’. And what is the nature of this fluctuation? That is set by the slider labelled ‘SPD’ and the switch next to it. THE SWITCH: (Please refer to later sections on LFOs and envelopes.) Each of the SJ-2’s oscillators has a dedicated LFO specifically for pulse width modulation. With the switch set to ‘LFO’, the dedicated LFO will modulate the pulse width at a speed set by the ‘SPD’slider. With the switch set to ‘EV1’, envelope 1 will modulate the pulse width. With the switch set to ‘KYBD’, keyboard tracking will modulate the pulse width. With the switch set to ‘SYNC’, oscillator 1’s LFO will modulate the pulse width of both oscillators. The two remaining switches set the polarity of the pulse width modulation.10 Programming -PWM

Meet the SJ-2’s Filter 38214567As mentioned in the introduction, considerable effort has gone into giving the SJ’s low pass filter that extra bit of ‘flare’ one normally associates with analog technology. However, from a user’s perspective, the filter controls are the same as you would find on any othersubtractive synthesizer - if you’re familiar with synthesis, you won’t need to spend a long time readingthis section. If you are not already familiar with synthesis, I have provided a brief introduction to the subject inAppendix #1. Before that , here’s a summary of the SJ-2 filter controls: HIGH PASS FILTER (1) This cannot be modulated by other parts of the synth; the high pass frequency settingwill control the cut-off point. It essentially functions rather like a bass cut control.11 Programming -Filter

38214567CUT-OFF FREQUENCY (2) - sets the cut-off frequency of the filter. RESONANCE (3) REZ - sets the resonance of the filter.ENVELOPE SOURCE (4) - determines whether the filter cut-off is modulated by envelope 1 or envelope 2. (please see the envelope section further on in the user guide.)ENVELOPE POLARITY (5) - determines whether the envelope modulates the filter cut-off positively or negatively.ENVELOPE INTENSITY (6) - determines how much envelope modulation is applied to the filter cut-off.LFO MODULATION (7) - determines how much LFO modulation is applied to the filter.(Please see the LFO section further on in the user guide.)FILTER KEY FOLLOW (8) This is similar to key tracking, discussed in the oscillator section earlier. When set to zero, the keyboard will not influence the filter’s cut-off at all, but at higher settings, higher keys will sound brighter than lower keys.
CAUTION: Turning up the resonance can lead to a profound increase in sound volume, perhaps unexpectedly. Please consider both your speakersand your ears and use this feature cautiously.
12 Programming -Filter
CAUTION: When the filter cut-off is built up from zero using an envelope generator with a long attack time, transient low frequency rumbles can occur when the filter’s output slips from inaudible to audible. To avoid this issue, be sure to add a small amount of attack time to the volume envelope. (Envelopes are discussed below.)

Meet the SJ-2’s envelopesThe SJ-2 has two ADSR type envelopes, which can be scaled by velocity and key-tracking Envelopes are triggered when a key is depressed; from this point the output of the envelope (used formodulation) will develop over time in a predictable profile, defined by the user, using controls in theenvelope section. The configuration of these controls varies from one instrument to another, but a popular standard which emerged early on is to have four controls - Attack, Decay, Sustain & Release. The following graph shows how these four controls operate on the envelopes output:ATTACKDECAYRELEASESUSTAINOUTPUT TIMEholds this level indefinitely,until key is released13 Programming -EnvelopesKey is releasedKey is pressed

The SJ-2 has two envelopes, both triggered simultaneously by depressing a key. The output of these envelopescan be assigned to various parts of the synth; pitch, volume, filter cut-off, cross-modulation and more.Envelope 1 to PitchEnvelope 1 to PulseWidthEnvelope 2 to volumeEnvelope 1 to oscillatorcross modulationSwitchable: Envelope 1or Envelope 2 to Filter cut-off.The default configuration for the SJ-2 is to have envelope 1 control filter cut-off and/or other attributessuch as pitch, while envelope 2 is used exclusively to control volume. However, by switching to ‘envelope 2’in the filter section, you can have envelope 2 control both volume and filter cut-off, whilst reserving envelope 1for other purposes.VELOCITY CONTROL Velocity (how hard a key is struck) can be used to scale the envelopes in both axis; the amount of intensity scaling is controlled by the left slider highlighted above; the right slider controls time scaling. This effect can be applied separately to envelopes 1 and 2 by using the two switches labeled ‘DYNAMIX’in the envelopes section.Hard Soft14 Programming -Envelopes

8 Key follow: These sliders affect the intensity of the envelope generators according to how high upthe keyboard a particular key is pressed. High settings will cause higher keys to follow a more intenseenvelope profile.CAUTION: If you reduce the SJ-2 envelope’s SUSTAIN amount, the peak of the envelope’s output can actuallyrise - the SJ-2 attempts to recover overall volume level . This helps to offset any loss of volume which the patch might incur due to the reduced sustain setting. However, at very low sustain settings, the effect can be quite dramatic. If an envelope which is controlling volume is subject to a reduction in sustain level, PLEASE PROCEED CAUTIOUSLY in order to protect equipment and prevent ear damage.Self-Compensating Sustain LevelPlease note that the maximum output from either of the SJ-2’s envelopes exceeds the highest cut-off frequencysetting (all frequencies allowed through) by a wide margin. This is deliberate and can be used to refine acut-off envelope profile around its peak, as shown below: Max cut-offMax cut-offEnvelope to filter slider set so that themaximum envelope output is less thanmax cut-off (all frequencies allowed through)Envelope to filter slider set so that themaximum envelope output exceedsmax cut-off.In the second example, because the peak is ‘clipped’, the filter remains fully open for a longer periodand this will have a dramatic effect on the sound.Please note that adding filter cut-off manually, in addition to envelope output, will further intensify thiseffect since the two sources (cut-off slider & envelope output) are simply added together.15 Programming -EnvelopesENVELOPE TO FILTER CLIPPING

At extreme settings, the peak of an SJ-2 envelope can be so snappy that it becomes important to co-ordinatethe attack times of the two envelopes, in order to prevent the filter from peaking after the volume has decayedto sub-optimal levels. This is really only an issue when you have some moderate attack time on the filter envelope,zero attack on the volume envelope but a swift decay on the latter. The following diagram illustrates the issue:SHORT ATTACK TIMES Filter envelopeVolume envelopeThe brightest part of the sound, defined by the filter envelope peak,is compromised because the volume hasalready decayed into the background.One solution is to add a little bit of attack time to the volume envelope as well. (Increasing volume‘decay’ time will also solve the problem but this will drastically change the nature of the sound!) One might be concerned that adding some attack time to the volume envelope might ‘blunt’ the sound andleave it with out much punch. In the case of the SJ-2, this concern is unfounded, because at low settings, the envelope’s attack is loaded toward the end of the attack phase - the following diagram will hopefully make this clearer:Attack DecayFilter envelopeAttack DecayVolume envelopeEven in the case that the filter envelope’s attack is set to zero, adding a small amount of attack tothe volume envelope can significantly increase a sounds punch, because the volume’s peak lingers for more time overall, whilst the decay is still abrupt and dramatic. Again, if sustain is set to high, or decay is slow, then the effect described above will not be noticeable.16 Programming -EnvelopesAt low attack settings, the SJ-2’s envelopes’ attack profile is not linear; It rises very steeplyindeed, to begin with, before slowing down androunding off. Right at the end, it speeds right upagain, to form a peak. This gives you the sonic quality of a hesitant attack,without losing too much in the way of punch. This characteristic is not exhibited at higher attacksettings and will not be noticeable if decay timesare long. However, with short decay times, smallattack adjustments can have a big effect on a preset’s perceived loudness.In fact this is an illusion - the decay time itself remains the same but with a higher sustain level, the attenuation from peek to sustain is reduced so the decay appears to be less pronounced. Simply readjust the decay time to compensate for this. Changes to resonance setting may similarly affect perceived time; again, simply readjust the decay setting to compensate if required.Increasing sustain level affects the decay time .......

Low Frequency OscillatorLFO DestinationsJust like the SJ-2’s main oscillators, the low frequency oscillator (LFO) creates waveforms. You can select from four different wave-shapes; sine, triangle, square and random. Unlike, the main oscillators, the LFO is not influenced by which key has been depressed;the frequency is controlled by the slider labeled ‘RATE’ in the LFO 1 section and it can go down to sub-audible frequencies. The purpose of the LFO is to provide a cyclic controloutput and it can be sent to various places, in a similar way to the envelope generatorsdiscussed earlier. The slider labeled ‘DELAY’ will cause the LFO output to build from nothing to its full amount over a period of time, rather likethe attack control in an envelope generator.The SJ-2 actually has two flexible LFO’s; the second one appears in the SJ-2 Control Section, described later. (In addition, there are dedicated LFOs for each oscillator’s pulse width, bringing the total to 4.) The SJ-2’s second LFO can only provide a sine wave and has no delay function. It can control either pitch or filter cut-off.The important thing about LFO 2 is that its intensity is scaled by modulation wheel data.Other Programming FeaturesOSC MIX: this allows you to adjust the volumes of the SJ-2’s main oscillators. Note: if you find that the SJ-2filter is distorting at high res settings, please try turning these volumes down a little.ENV RESET: not currently implemented.17 Programming -LFO / OSc Mix

The SJ-2 control panel provides all the input you need to effectively control the synthesizer. Here, you will findmaster volume and master tune knobs, facilities to load and save patches, polyphony assignment, a second LFO and a basic arpeggiator. Please note that apart from the patch memory menus, all controls in this section save with the patch, including Master-Tune and Test-Tone controls. PROGRAMMER
Click on the white button labelled ’Patch ‘ in order to select a patch. Note that if you make
alterations to a par ticular patch, those alterations will remain in effect if you select a different
patch , but will not be present if you launch the SJ-2 on another occasion. Copying patches
from one memory slot to another can be achieved by clicking on the menu labelled File . This menu also
includes options for saving & loading either individual patches (presets) or the entire bank, as
discrete files on your hard drive. Patch display
: displays the currently selected patch . Value display
: displays the value of the current or last adjusted parameter setting.
There are no facilities on the SJ-2 to layer two patches together or split the keyboard
between two patches. However, you can achieve these configurations by launching 2 instances
of the SJ-2 in your host progra m and controlling them from the host program .
Test Tone:
Use this to check that the SJ-2 is correctly set up within your host software . If pressing
keys does not yield a sound but the Test Tone can be heard, then the chances are that the
SJ-2 s midi input is not configured correctly. The test tone emits a pitch of middle C ʹ you
can thus check that the SJ-2 tuning is correct. Patch menus
:
PORTAMENTOPITCH BEND RANGEThe SJ-2 features polyphonic portamento.Yes, this entire section is devoted to pith bend range. It’s more flexible than is usually available; the pitch bend effect can be controlled separately for each oscillator and the range can go up to 2 octaves each way.19 Control Panel